Building a startup is hard work. Things go wrong all the time, customers get (rightfully) upset, and it can be a draining experience. Those are the lows. On the flip side, when features are big wins, customers are happy and things are going well, it can be a wonderful experience. Those are the highs.

It may not come as a surprise, but as a customer of a startup, you can directly affect where on the spectrum of low to high they are with a simple gesture: say thanks. Seriously, just type up an email that looks something like…

Hey!

Love the service, we’ve been using it for a few weeks now and it has helped us do X. I’m just happy you exist and I wish you the best. If there is any way that I can help you, just let me know. I owe you one.

Thanks again! Happy Customer

PS: Whoever built feature Y, thank them profusely for me. It rocks!

…and hit send. Drop a few names of people you’ve interacted with, I promise you it will make their day. The more specific you can be on why you love them helps is an emotional multiplier. Especially to those in the trenches on the support line (often times founders in the ultra early stages), they experience a disproportionate amount of negative interactions because of the simple truism:

Happy customers tend to be quiet customers.

So break the cycle and be a happy and loud customer. So take a minute right now, choose a startup that means a lot to you, and share the love.